New Delhi: India is cracking down on the critics of Operation Sindoor, reports The New York Times. The arrest of political science professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who admonished Indians “baying for war”, shows “Indian leaders’ sensitivity to the political fallout from the military flare-up” with Pakistan, it says.
Alex Travelli and Suhasini Raj also mention British-Indian academic Nitasha Kaul, barred from visiting India for “indulging in anti-India activities”, and newspaper Gujarat Samachar, which has been “covering the career of Mr. Modi with a critical eye for more than 20 years”.
“Businesses are also being penalised for appearing to be close to Mr. Modi’s critics,” the report says. Çelebi Aviation Holding, a Turkish on-ground airport service provider operating in India, has lost its security clearance.
“As India’s government has moved to restrict what can be said about the confrontation with Pakistan, a welter of Indians have come under pressure,” the report reads.
For the residents of India’s border villages, “years of relative calm” came to a complete standstill with the India-Pakistan flare-up, and local people are now picking up the pieces, report Niha Masih and Shams Irfan in The Washington Post. “Kashmiris, trapped in a situation beyond their control, suffer the most,” an analyst is quoted as saying. “Now it is the job of big global powers to help defuse tensions permanently.”
US President Donald Trump has left Prime Minister Narendra Modi with two “headaches”—the ceasefire claim, and the looming tariff pressure, writes columnist Andy Mukherjee in Bloomberg.
“Trump is wading into what is delicate economic territory for New Delhi. Washington and Beijing have put their trade war on pause; the US administration has also negotiated a tariff deal with the UK. But when it comes to India, which shipped more goods to the US last year than Britain, there is no sign of an accord yet,” he writes.
China has emerged as a benefactor of the India-Pakistan conflict, with analysts even referring to the success of its weapons system as a “deep-seek moment” for the country, writes Anbarasan Ethirajan in the BBC.
India reportedly used its French and Russian-made jets, while Pakistan deployed its J-10 and J-17 aircraft, which Islamabad co-produces with Beijing, the report says. A Beijing-based analyst tells Ethirajan that the outcome of the air duel showed that “China has some systems that are next to none”.
“Shares in the Chinese Avic Chengdu Aircraft company, that manufactures fighter jets like the J-10, surged by up to 40% last week after the reported performance of the fighter jet in the India-Pakistan conflict,” reads the piece.
The BBC also looks at the arrest of travel content creator Jyoti Malhotra, who has been arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan by police personnel in Haryana, who say that she was in touch with a high commission official from Pakistan.
“The YouTuber’s father has denied allegations that she was a spy, saying she went to Pakistan after acquiring necessary permissions,” notes the report. “Police claim Ms Malhotra was in touch with ‘Pakistani intelligence operatives’ and had continuous contact with a Pakistani citizen.”
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also Read: Global media on China’s balancing act & why India ‘won’t benefit’ from further combat with Pakistan